As one of the crown jewels of Long Beach since 1967, the Queen Mary has fascinated locals and tourists from across the globe. The ship underwent a substantial conversion from the point it permanently docked in Long Beach’s harbor to 1971. Part of that conversion was to redesign the ship as a destination with a hotel, event space and attractions on board.
“I don’t know that those making the decision really understood how she would be reigned years later as a historic asset,” John Thomas, the ship’s historic consultant, told the Business Journal. “Today we are working with the city to take more of a focus of the ship being a historical art piece as well as a destination.” With the number of historic ships dwindling, and the fact that many of those that do remain have been gutted, Thomas said, “There’s fear out there for a lot of these ships right now.”
Check out my article and accompanying photo tour online at LBBusinessJournal.com!
Tiffany L. Rider 